The Married Life
by Aithril the Elf-Maiden
Summary: Sequel to Soul Mates A few years later, Marik and Alex have progressed further than their little 'date'. Alex finishes school, and that very evening Marik presents her with an engagement ring. Are they ready to live as a married couple? Or perhaps there
1. Jolly Ranchers Are Indeed Nutritious

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ATTENTION: Sorry, I had to update in order to get the boldings and italics down. The second chapter is about 45% done, so check back soon. ^_^;;

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Or any of it's merchandise toy thingys... wait, I do. I have some Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards, etc. 

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Rating: PG-13 for some cursing, mildly adult scenes, etc.

  
**Summary: ***Sequel to Soul Mates* A few years later, Marik and Alex have progressed further than their little 'date'. Alex finishes school, and (that very evening) Marik presents her with an engagement ring. Are they ready to live as a married couple? Or perhaps there are still some secrets to be let out- not to mention an old grudge to dissipate.

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Author Notes: Heyas again, guys. ^_^ Long time no write, but big time edit. I've been busy editing Rozefire's work here on Fanfiction.net and dabbling in poetry on the side, so please excuse my lateness. I DID say the sequel would have to wait for this year... and here it is. ^_^ I hope you enjoy!

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The Married Life

Jolly Ranchers Are Indeed Nutritious

"Are you done yet?" His voice was muffled as it passed through the bathroom door. "How's it going?"

"Just wait a minute, would you?" Alex called , stifling a laugh as he sighed dramatically.

Marik ran a hand through his blond locks to push long pieces from the glare he was imprinting on the door. "What color is it?"

"The pee?"

"No! The little measuring tape… thing…" He flailed for words. "You know what I mean!"

She giggled. "It's not the color, it's whether it's a positive or negative sign!"

"Which is it?" 

The door was thrown wide open by his twenty-three year old fiancée who stepped wearily out to meet him.

"Well?" he asked anxiously, seeing the long look on her face. Disappointment was already grumbling nervously in his stomach, and perhaps a little despair mixed in, too-

"Yes!" Alex's droopy frown changed instantly to a radiant, beaming smile.

"Yes?" Marik repeated, incredulous.

"Yes!" She grabbed his hands and twirled him in a circle. Normally he would have dipped her back into a heated kiss, but he was too amazed.

"Yes?"

"Yes! Aren't you excited?" 

He blinked, still in shock. "I'm so excited I can hardly think-" Marik broke off, eyes widening. "Sweet Mother of Ra! I'm- I'm going to be- a father!" He leaned down swiftly and caught her lips in a fierce embrace of excitement.

Alex rolled her green eyes, the irises flashing at him teasingly as she broke away. "Uh, yes! I've only been trying to get that through to you for five whole minutes. Geez!" 

"Is it a boy? Or a girl?" Marik followed her out of their room, down the stairs, and into one of the four living rooms.

She flopped down on the couch before she answered with a question. "How should I know?"

Marik gaped at her in confusion. "You just took a pregnancy test!"

"Exactly." she confirmed. "_Not_ a gender test."

"Ah." was all he managed, obviously embarrassed to have no knowledge on this subject.

"I'll have to see a doctor, now." Alex said thoughtfully. Marik tensed. 

"Again?" He remembered the last private physician he'd called in when she was sick- the slimy bustard had his hands all over her.

"Just to check for sure and be certain that everything's all right," she soothed as his face began to redden. "Wouldn't want anything to go wrong." Her hand snaked out towards a bag of Jolly Ranchers on the table and Marik slapped it away playfully.

"No more junk food for you," he lectured, mock-serious.

"What the hell?" she scowled at him. "Jolly Ranchers? I don't even think they have sugar!" Alex snatched the bag and read the back. "Ok… some… a lot… so?"

"So- you're going to have to stop eating like a kid."

"I do not eat like a kid!"

Marik raised his eyebrows. "You get up in the morning. You eat waffle sticks and pour Hershey's Syrup on them. The leggo-my-eggo kind, to be exact." His eyes twinkled as she opened her mouth to protest. "No, no, I'm not done yet.

"With it, you drink a large glass of milk with a chunk of Hershey's chocolate in the bottom to be sure you 'drink it all' to get the prize."

"Just wait a-" Her fiancé held up a hand.

"Still on breakfast! Obviously, you are lacking in your daily allotment of chocolate, seeing as you must have even more. To finish off breakfast, you have a bagel, which wouldn't be so bad if the rest of the chocolate bar wasn't melted on top and slathered in peanut butter!"

"You haven't even tried that yet-" she attempted to interject, but now Marik was on a roll.

"Lunch consists of an apple. That might be the first potentially good thing you've had all day- if not for the caramel and marshmallows! The vitamins and other healthy goodies are lost if the apple's smothered in sugar, did you know?"

"That can't be true-"

"For a mid-afternoon snack, you eat two Snicker's and a handful of Jolly Ranchers. These are followed by a good four or five shots of orange soda."

"Would you just-"

"For dinner, you like hotdogs or hamburgers best, preferably two or three with a large order of fries covered in salt and ketchup- OOF-"

Alex ran him over like a truck, slamming him back against the couch. "I get the point!" she huffed. 

"Do you?" he asked, not all that unhappy with the position they were in. "I really, really think you don't." Her fiancé shifted so that she was sitting practically on top of him and she settled into the crook of his arm.

"I get it, aright?" Alex said, rolling her eyes at him.

"Get what?" Marik prodded. "Tell me exactly what you understand."

"No more Jolly Ranchers for me!"

***

Yami Marik was confused.

He hated that word. _Confused_. How terribly and unmistakably…

Weak.

He growled and paced the confines of his soul room restlessly, knocking back items that had the misfortune to stand in his way.

The spirit couldn't tell what he felt anymore, or at least 'felt' what he thought he'd be feeling if he were alive.

To live again…

Then his baka other wouldn't have a chance-

Stupid _boy_ didn't even know he existed! For eight years, he had schemed quietly, ignoring Marik's puzzled calls for him and feeling the odd mix of loss and joy when it was assumed that he had gone.

All gone, all gone, gone gone gone.

The ahou didn't even miss him! Not even a little. How could he not?

But even now, Yami Marik wasn't sure whether he missed his hikari or just life itself.

Or maybe the endless attention he got. It was hate, of course. Oh yes, a strong loathing sort of feeling that he craved and yearned for. Marik just didn't understand. The only reason he existed was to dedicate his entire soul and body to _hating_ his alter ego.

The hate was gone now… it wasn't possible. It _shouldn't_ be possible. It wasn't meant to be possible! It was replaced with love- and even Yami Marik would have accepted this love, but who was it directed towards?

Alex, of course!

__

Love of my life, heart of my heart, my only one. he mimicked sardonically, seething with rage.

__

Just wait… I guarantee there will be ones by the end of this…

One for me-

__

And one that's dead!

***

"What is this?"

Alex was staring at the plate a butler had just served her. It contained exactly ten lettuce leaves, some carrots, and low-fat caesar dressing.

The butler only smiled and replied, "Sorry, Mistress. The Master's orders." He bowed and left.

A glare burned into Marik's forehead from where he sat across the table. He looked up and raised an eyebrow, secretly startled at such a hostile reaction. "Yes?" 

"Do you call this edible?" Her cold voice caused him to flinch.

"Erm, yes, I do. In fact, it's extremely healthy and good for y-"

"Wait, scratch that." Alex interrupted, eyes gleaming. "Do you think this is _funny_?"

"No." Marik swallowed. "I think it would be great if you would eat it though."

She sat simmering for a few moments before downright erupting. "This is the most pathetic, smallest, non-nutritioned and disgusting salad I have every seen!" The fiancée threw her hands up into the air. "I can't believe you!"

Determined not to make her livid over such a small detail, Marik burst out rather hastily, "Ha! I was kidding! Haha!" He summoned the butler to bring another plate of chicken.

Alex stopped in mid-rant to give him a queer look, then happily went at the 'edible' food placed in front of her.

As the butler passed Marik on the way to the kitchens, he muttered something that sounded a quite suspiciously like "Whipped!"

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Author's Notes:

Ahou: Fool

Baka: Idiot

I do hope it was up to par, Moonbeam. ^_~ Ttfn until next time, which won't be long, but won't be immediate either. I'm thinking maybe a week. Until then!

~Aithril


	2. Have Some Fruit!

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Disclaimer: Still don't own Marik or any part of Yu-Gi-Oh. I do own Alex though. :D Mine! Mine Mine Mine! ^_~

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Rating: PG-13 for some cursing, mildly adult scenes, etc.

  
**Summary: ***Sequel to Soul Mates* A few years later, Marik and Alex have progressed further than their little 'date'. Alex finishes school, and (that very evening) Marik presents her with an engagement ring. Are they ready to live as a married couple? Or perhaps there are still some secrets to be let out- not to mention an old grudge to dissipate.

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Author Notes: Whoa, I'm on a roll here. Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone. I was afraid that maybe I'd waited too long (in my opinion, anyway) and no one would care anymore. Way to prove me wrong! ^_^

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The Married Life

Have Some Fruit!

"Stop it!" Alex gripped the doorway so hard that her knuckles turned white. "I have to go! I made the appointment!"

"What about a _private_ physician!" Marik cried, his arm latched around her waist and left leg. "You can trust them more!"

"_You_ wouldn't trust one either way," she said calmly, extracting herself from his iron grip. He reluctantly allowed her to do so.

"But..." he trailed off, knowing there was nothing left to try and move her cemented mind.

"Exactly." Alex presented him with a gentle, but firm kiss on the lips and skipped down the walk to the private garages. She refused to be driven in a limo like Marik had pleaded her to do. "I'll be back in about two hours."

The said man rubbed his temples and watched her go, eyes fondly following her figure as it slid behind the wheel of a lime green Jaguar and gunned the engine to the front gate.

"Master," ventured a voice behind him. Marik turned to survey the servant, who cringed. "Phone, sir."

He snatched the offered receiver up and pressed it warily against his ear. "Yes?"

"Master, greetings from your humble slave. I and my partner have gathered information on-"

"Wait." Marik interrupted with curt relief. "Use the private holophone." (**-cringes- What? Can't he have a holophone to himself? Lol!**)

"Yessir," came the voice after a brief moment. "Waiting for your screen to be activated."

Choosing not to reply, Marik dashed through the doorway and up the stairs to his study. He slammed the door behind him and pressed his palm onto a gel pad, muffling the phone against his side. 

"ID confirmed." replied a female computer voice. "State your name."

"Marik Ishtar."

"Confirmed." A plasma screen unfolded from his desk and blinked on automatically.

"Good morning, sir."

Marik eyed the pair of hooded and robed men who were shown on the screen. It crackled as the other inquired, "May we speak freely, Master?"

"Go ahead."

"As I was saying before, my partner and I have gathered information on the subject's companions."

"Continue."

"One of the subject's friends is known as Joey Wheeler. Wheeler has gained experience in Duel Monsters due to the aid of the subject. He lives in an apartment with his father and has a sister, Serenity Wheeler. The two siblings are very close, as is Wheeler to the subject.

"A friend of Wheeler's and the subject's is Tristan Taylor. He has little or no dueling experience, as does another friend, Tea Gardner. They are of less importance to the subject than Wheeler-"

"Is there a point to this?" Marik interrupted, tapping his fingernails in poorly-suppressed impatience against the table. 

"Sir, you ordered us to find information-"

"_Relevant_ information." he ground out. "Don't contact me again until you have something worth your mangy lives!" He twisted the knob to render the screen blank and discontinued the connection.

Marik leaned back in his chair with a sigh and stretched his arms behind his head. He wished Alex was here. He would never reveal his plans to steal the Millennium Puzzle and the pharaoh's power to her, but she would know he was frustrated and cheer him up...

At such a crucial pause in his plans, it was imperative that his Rare Hunters continue to duel against Yugi and his friends in the Battle City Tournament while he schemed and hid phone calls like these from his fiancee.

An idea suddenly lit in his mind, and he grinned. Next to Alex, of course, what better thing could there be to do than torture the pharaoh?

Marik slid a hand inside his pocket and retrieved the Millennium Rod, rubbing his finger absently over the top of it. He never had figured out exactly how Alex identified it immediately the first night he'd captured her...

Shaking his head, he concentrated on the task at hand. His eyes closed as his mind sought the energy of the particular duelist he had assigned to battle little Yugi the day before. They should be dueling about now-

***

Marik watched, bored out of his mind, as Yugi and the pharaoh defeated one of his slaves. 

Again.

"Slifer, attack!" the pharaoh yelled, and the less powerful Summoned Skull withered beneath the great dragon's attack.

The Leader of the Rare Hunters groaned and banged his head lightly upon the desk. Millennium Rod glowing brightly, he seized control of his defeated minion and sneered at the short teen across the field from him.

"_Yugi, I see you've defeated another one of my slaves- easily replaceable_."

"Marik!" his enemy roared, striding toward him. "Show your face, you coward!"

__

"All in good time, Pharaoh. In fact, I'll even autograph a photo of myself just for you if you hand over the Millennium Puzzle right now."

"As if I would surrender it to the likes of you!" he fumed. 

"_It was worth a-_" Yami Yugi felt the connection between Marik and his mind slave waver as another voice broke in.

"_Marik!!! What have you_-" The power held like a taunt wire, stretched, then snapped with a crack of power that tossed the Millennium Puzzle holder ten feet backwards.

Yugi regained control and was silent for a moment, catching his breath, then asked, in puzzlement, "What was that?"

***

"Marik?" Alex questioned as he suddenly gasped and whirled around. "Ahhh!"

"Sorry." he said, passing a hand over his brow. "You startled me."

"Who were you talking to?" she asked, glancing curiously around the room.

"What?"

"C'mon, you must have been speaking to _someone_, right? Tell me it wasn't just yourself." Alex laughed nervously.

To tell the truth, Marik had no idea that he'd spoken out loud at all. To him, it was just inside his mind. Before Alex, there'd been no one to tell him so...

Before Alex.

"Ah..." he fumbled for an excuse. "This... this little mini phone I have. Right here. Yep." He pointed to the trenchcoat he had donned that morning.

"Where? I don't see a phone." his fiancee peered closer.

Marik spun around so fast he nearly fell over. "It's really small. That's it."

Alex frowned. _Why's he acting so weird?.... oh! I get it..._

He was stunned when her inquisitive face broke into a grin. "I get it!"

For the second time: "What?"

"You're nervous." she chided. "The doctor was very professional-"

Marik's eyes narrowed. He'd forgotten about that bastard.

"- and he said I was healthy and to come back in a couple months." she finished, feet dancing in place. "How great is that?"

In answer, he swept her off her feet and caught her lips in a long, hard kiss. When they finally withdrew, panting, she said, "But really, who were you talking to?"

Marik paused and stared at her like a deer framed in headlights. "Uh..."

***

"His _MOM_?!?" Alex's friend, Cory, squealed.

She winced and held the phone away, recovering her hearing, only to bring it back again.

"Yeah, how weird! I never knew he had a mom. I mean, you just don't think of guys talking to their mothers like that."

"He really said he'd autograph his picture for her?"

"I'm pretty sure he said it." Alex confirmed. "I missed most everything before and after it, but I heard something else-"

"Alex!" Marik's voice echoed up the stairs from the hall. "Dinner!"

"Hey, I've got to go-"

"Aright, don't you two be too busy." Cory teased.

"Can't promise anything." Alex said cheerfully. They exchanged good-byes and hung up.

"Alex?" Marik asked, poking his head through the door. "Did you hear?"

"Dinner! Right!" She leapt off the bed and tackled him. "Mmmm, mashed potatoes."

Grinning, he nuzzled her neck and breathed in her scent. "Steak."

Alex laughed, squirmed from his hold, and bolted through the doorway. "Last one downstairs doesn't get any of the cake!"

Marik shot upright. "You can't have cake!" he yelled, chasing after her with a passion. "It's unhealth-"

"Screw health!"

"What do you mean, screw health! Have some fruit!"

"All this cake just for me!" she sang, darting towards the dining room.

"Noooo!" Her fiancé dove for the doorway, effectively tripping her.

"Yah-" Alex started to shriek, half flailing her arms, when she noticed Marik had caught her. "Woah... awesome!"

The butler rolled his eyes as he stepped over the laughing couple, carrying a platter of steak.

"Ah, young love..."

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Author Notes: Interesting... the butler has no part in this story at all, yet here he is again- ending my chapter! Weird! I must incorporate him into my plot! (runs around in quick frantic circles)

Please review! ^_~

~Aithril

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